Multiple cover control and latch assembly



D United States Patent 1 1 3,539,238

[72] inventors Henry R. Kruspe and [56] References Cited 1 A l N Mott,Lexington, Kentucky UNITED STATES PATENTS g f Jan29 1969 2,638,0405/1953 Murphy 312/292 2,758,900 8/1956 Marchand 3l2/291X [45] Paemed1970 3 287 079 11/1966 Courson 312/291 [73] Assgnee Busmess Machines3,387,905 6/1968 Lindenschmidt et al. 312/319 Armonk, New York PrimaryExaminer-James T. McCall a corporation of New York Attorney Sughrue,Rothwell, Mion, Zinn and Macpeak ABSTRACT: On a copying machine of thetype having a movable carriage, a double cover arrangement is rovided Psuch that the outer cover is latched in closed position while the innercover moves with the carriage to protect the docu- [54] MULTIPLE COVERCONTROL AND LATCH ments thereon. Both covers may be openedsimultaneously by ASSEMBLY 5 Cl i 8D in H means of a suitable interlockand controlled by a countera raw 3 balancing arrangement incorporating areduction gear set with [521 [1.8. CI. 312/291, adjustable frictionbraking means operated by means of a link- 312/139, 312/271 220/34 ageinterconnecting the cover arrangement with the counter- [51] Int. Cl.A47b 46/00 balancing arrangement. The latch for the outer cover is [50]Field of Search 312/271, operated in conjunction with a document sensingarrangement 291, 319, 320, 138, 139; 49/69, 373; 96/].4; to preventlatching when an oversized document is presented 220/30, 34 on thecarriage.

Pate nted Nov.. 10, 1970 Sheet L .i ;.&=

INVENTORS. HENRY R. KRUSPE WILLIAM E. MOTT ATTORNEYS.

Pa tented Nov. 10, 1970 Sheet Patented Nov. 10, 1970 Sheet FIG, 5

MULTIPLE COVER CONTROL AND LATCH ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention This invention relates to a multiple cover hingeand latch assembly for use on a xerographic copying machine of the typehaving a movable document carriage. More specifically, the presentinvention is directed to an interlocking arrangement between a coverwhich is mounted on the movable carriage and a cover mounted on theframe of the machine so that both covers may be opened simultaneouslywhen the carriage is in the home position for document loading andunloading. A further specific feature of the present invention residesin a counterbalancing arrangement incorporating a reduction gear set andadjustable friction braking means to enable the cover assembly to heself-supporting in the open position at an acute angle relative to thehorizontal surface of the machine.

A still further feature ofthc present invention resides in the provisionof sensing means associated with the cover on the movable documentcarriage which will prevent latching of the cover assembly and startingof the machine ifa document having an excessive thickness is placed onthe carriage.

2. Description of the Prior Art In most prior art xerographic copyingmachines having a movable document carriage, a cover is provided on thedocument carriage to hold the document in place while it is beingtransported into and out of the machine to perform a scanning operationrelative to the copies thereon. In this type of machine, a second coverfor enclosing the movable mechanism is not provided thereby increasingthe chance of a foreign object becoming caught between the movablemember and the stationary housing. Also, whenever a moving element in amachine is exposed the chance of personal injury also increases and itis far safer to enclose all moving parts.

Some prior art devices have provided a second cover on the housing inorder to completely close the machine when it is not in use but such asecond cover generally must remain inthe open position when the machineis in use and therefore SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present inventionprovides a multiple cover assembly for xerographic machines of the typehaving a movable document carriage. A document cover is pivotallysecured to the movable document carriage and upon closure is adapted tocompletely cover or encapsulate the document placed on the movablecarriage for reproduction purposes. Another cover is pivotally securedto the frame of the machine and when latched in the closed positioncompletely covers the opening in the frame of the machine which providesaccess to the movable carriage for loading and unloading documents. Aninterfitting latch arrangement is provided between the document cover onthe document carriage and the outer cover such that when the documentcarriage is in the home position the document cover will be interlockedwith the outer cover so that the two covers can be moved simultaneously.

A tlcxible pressure pad is pivoted inside the document cover and isadapted to press on the document to maintain the same in secure. flatcondition during the scanning operation. If a document having excessivethickness is placed on the carriage, the document cover will not be ableto close completely into contact with the carriage. A sensing linkagearrangement is provided inside the external cover which senses theposition of the document cover and ifthe same is not fully closed whenthe outer or external cover is closed, the sensing linkage will renderthe latch inoperative to prevent the outer cover from being latched andtherefore prevent starting of the machine.

A position controlled interlock is provided for the sensing linkage andthe handle controlled latch to prevent the operator from manipulatingthe handle while the cover is in the open position to bypass the sensinglinkage and start the machine with an oversize document on the carriage.

According to the present invention, a counterbalance control arrangementis provided for the multiple cover assembly which will enable thedocument covers to be retained in the open position without anyadditional supporting means even though the cover is disposed at anangle with respect to the horizontal position.

A reduction gear set is provided in conjunction with the covercounterbalancing arrangement and an adjustable braking means isassociated therewith to provide the necessary degree of friction to holdthe cover assembly in the open position. A one-way clutch is alsoprovided to bypass the braking means during the opening or raisingmovement of the cover.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of thecopying machine with the cover assembly in the closed position;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, partly in section, showing the covercontrol mechanism with the cover in the closed position;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view, partly in section, showing the covercontrol mechanism with the cover in the open position;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view showing the details of the cover controlmechanism;

FIG. 4a is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the latchmechanism for the cover assembly;

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the latch mechanism for the coverassembly; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 7-7 in FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The cover assembly shown anddescribed in the present application is used primarily with axerographic copying machine of the type disclosed in copendingapplication Ser. No. 778,492, filed Nov. 25, 1968, entitled DriveCoupling System, and assigned to the assignee of the presentapplication. In said copending application, a joint coupling system wasprovided for reciprocating a document carriage past an optical scanningdevice for forming an image on a xerographic drum. The cover assemblyaccording to the present application provides a cover for the documentwhich is mounted on the movable carriage so as to completely protect thedocument as it traverses back and forth in the machine. The coverassembly of the present application also provides a main or outermachine cover which is hinged to the top of the machine which willcompletely cover the reciprocating carriage assembly to prevent jammingby the introduction of foreign articles and to prevent personal injuryto the operator of the machine.

The xerographic copying machine It), according to the present invention,is shown in plan view in FIG. I. The top 12 of the machine has agenerally flat, smooth working surface with a cover 14 hinged thereto at16 and 18 for the purpose of covering the access opening in the top 12which allows the placing and removal of documents on the reciprocatingdocument carriage I3 when the carriage is in the home position inalignment with the access opening. The cover is provided with a latchoperating handle 22 whereby the operator may readily raise and lower thecover about hinges I6 and 18 under the control of the cover controlmechanism, shown generally in dotted lines at 20.

The hinge control mechanism 20 is shown in greater detail in FIGS. 24,inclusive. A U-shaped bracket 24 is fixedly secured into the optic frame25 which, in turn, is adjustable secured to the main frame 27 by meansof bolts 29. The U- shaped bracket is provided with a pair of alignedapertures in which a stub shaft 26 is mounted. An car 28 is provided onone side of the U-shaped bracket 24 and a stub shaft 30 is securedtherein upon which an integral gear set comprised of two gears 32 and 34is journaled for rotation. A lever 36 is mounted for rotation onshaft'26 and is provided with a semicircular gear segment 38 integraltherewith and disposed in mesh with gear 32. A gear 40 is also journaledon the shaft 26 adjacent the lever 36 and is disposed in mesh with gear34. The gear 40 is provided with an elongated hub 42 having a diameterequal to the diameter ofa stationary hub portion 44 which is mounted onshaft 26 for unidirectional movement through a one-way clutch shownschematically at 41. A helical clutch spring 46 has one end secured tothe flange 43 integral with hub member 44 and the other end is providedwith an upturned end portion adapted to be engaged by an adjustablesetscrew 47 which is threaded through an ear 49 secured to the flange 43for varying the degree of friction between the clutch spring and the hub44 when the hub 44 is held stationary by the oneway clutch 41 duringclosing movement of the cover assembly.

The lever 36 is provided with an elongated bent arm 48 having anelongated slot 50 therethrough. A main control lever 52 is pivoted onthe U-shaped bracket 24 and is formed with two arms 54 and 56 at thefree end thereof in the form of a T. The arm 54 is provided with adouble roller 58 and arm 56 is connected by means of a cable 57 to aspring-tensioned pulley device 59 which will keep a predeterminedtension on the lever 52 as the cover assembly is raised and lowered. Asecond control lever 60 is pivoted at 62 to the frame of the machineadjacent hinge 16 and a portion of the lever is provided with twoparallel arms 64 having identical circular curvatures along which therollers 58 move during the opening and closing of the cover assembly.The other arm of lever 60 is provided with rollers 61 at the end thereofwhich are held captive in slot 65 and rollon flange 63 for a limiteddistance. Pin 55 and lever 60 slides in slot 50 oflever arm 48.

Thus, it is seen that as the cover is raised the lever 36 will bepivoted about the shaft 26 under the control of the main con trol lever52 and the second control lever 60. As the lever 36 pivots about theshaft 26 the gear segment 38 will rotate the gear set 32 and 34 whichwill, in turn, rotate the gear 40 about the shaft 26. During raising ofthe cover the one-way clutch 41 will allow hub 44 to rotate freely withhub 42. The raising of the cover is assisted by the spring-tensionedpulley device 59 acting through cable 57 and rollers 58 on the arms 64.Due to the frictional force of the clutch spring 46 the cover may beraised to any predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal topsurface of the machine and will be maintained at whatever position it isleft in. Downward movement of the cover is resisted by the frictionalbraking force of the spring 46 on the hub 42 of gear 40 due to the factthat the hub 44 will be held stationary by the one-way clutch 41.Sufficient closure pressure by the operator assisted by the weight ofthe cover will overcome the frictional force of spring 46 and theresistance of pulley 59 to enable easy closing ofthe cover.

Within the machine the movable document carriage 13 is mounted forreciprocating movement parallel to the upper surface or top 12 of themachine 10. The carriage 13 is provided with a document cover 78 hingedto the carriage by any suitable means. The pivot axis of cover 78 isdesigned so as to enclose or encapsulate the document which is placedface down on the carriage so as to prevent the document from beingcaught between the carriage and the frame of the machine during thetraversing movement. A flexible pressure pad (not shown) is looselysuspended on the document cover 78 and is adapted to press documentsagainst the surface of the document carriage.

In order to provide for the simultaneous lifting of the main cover 14and the document cover 78, the document cover 78 by means of the spring74 against an adjustable stop 73 to hold the roller 76 on the oppositeend of the lever 70 away from the main cover14. When the two covers areclosed and the document carriage is returned to the home position underthe main cover 14, the'flange 82 will overlie the roller 76 on the endof the lever 70. Thus, when the handle 22 is grasped to raise the maincover 14, the lever 70 secured to the cover 14 will pick up the documentcover 78 by means of the interlocking engagement between the roller 76and the flange 82 of cover 78.

In order to prevent the insertion of oversized documents on the documentcarriage which might cause the reciprocating carriage to jam during itstraversing movement in the machine a document sensing assembly isprovided. If a document is placed on the carriage having planardimensions greater than the surface area of the document carriage whichis covered by the document cover, it will be impossible to close thedocument cover 78 completely down on the surface of the carriage 13.Also, if a document having excessive thickness such as a book isinserted into the machine on the document carriage, it will again beimpossible to close the document cover 78 completely.

lfeither of these conditions exist and the document cover is not fullyclosed, the raised condition of the document cover is sensed by a leverwhich in turn controls an interlocking arrangement which will preventthe downward movement of the handle 22 into latching position. If thehandle 22 is not depressed fully into the latching position, it will beimpossible to start the machine and the danger of the carriage becomingjammed in the machine during this traversing movement will be completelyobviated.

The sensing assembly is comprised of a main mounting bracket 86 which isbolted to the underside of the cover 14 parallel to the front edgethereof and the operating handle 22. A pair of oppositely extendingU-shaped levers 88 and 90 are pivoted to upstanding ears 92 and 94 at 93and 95 on the main bracket 86. The handle 22 is provided with attachmentarms 96 and 98 which are secured to the U-shaped lever 90 and the twoU-shaped levers are pivotally connected together at each end by means ofshort interconnecting plates 100 adjacent the point of connection ofeach arm 96 and 98 to the lever 90 so that the legs of both U-shapedlevers will be maintained parallel to each other at all times whenpivoted under the control of the handle 22. A spring 102 is connectedbetween the middle portion of the U-shaped lever 90 and a tab 104 whichis integral with the main bracket 86. The spring 102 will maintain thehandle member 22 in the raised position when it is not latched in thedownward position during the copying operation. A document cover sensinglever 106 is pivoted at 108 to an upstanding ear 110 integral with themain bracket 86. A roller member 112 is adjustably mounted in a slot 113in one end of the lever 106 and is adapted to be spaced from the uppersurface of the document cover 78 by a predetermined minimum amount. Anadjusting screw 114 is threaded through an car 116 which is integralwith the opposite end of the lever 106 to adjust the location of theroller 112 relative to the top of the document cover 78. A spring 118 isconnected between an car 120 of the lever 106 and a projection 121 fromthe car 92 which is integral with the main bracket 86. The spring 118tends to hold the adjusting screw 114 against the underside of cover 14.An interlocking latch lever 122 is pivoted at 124 to a bracket member126 which is secured to the underside of the cover 14 at 125. A sensingrod 128 is secured to the interlocking latch member 122 and extendsunderneath the end of the lever 106 between the lever 106 and the cover14. A leaf spring 127 is secured to lever 106 at: 129 and extends overstud 131 and under sensing rod 128 as viewed in FIG. 6 to hold rod 128in engagement with lever 106 at all times.

A cover latching member 130 is slidably mounted on an extension ofbracket 126 by means of shouldered studs 115 secured to bracket 126 andextending through guide slot 117 in latch 130 for movement perpendicularto the top surface of the cover 14. An actuating bar 132 isintegrallysecurcd to the handle extension 96 and is disposed inintcrfitting engagement in a slot 133 in the latch member 130 so thatupon up and down movement of the handle 22 the latch member 130will beraised and lowered so that the hook portion 135 may be brought into andout of engagement with a latch holding device (not shown) located in themachine beneath the cover 14. The latch member 130 is provided with anextension 134 which is disposed adjacent a notch 136 formed on theinterlocking lever 122.

In operation, the roller 112 on the document cover sensing lever 106 isadjusted to a position immediately adjacent the top surface of thedocument cover 78. If an oversized document is placed on the carriage84. the upper surface of the document cover will be raised a Sufficientamount with respect to the document carriage such that the documentcover 78 will contact and raise the roller 112 and the end of the lever106 to which the roller is attached. The opposite end of the lever 106will then be lowered a sufficient amount to allow the interlocking lever122 to which the sensing rod 128 is secured to pivot about 124 and bringthe notch 136 into interlocking engagement with the extension 134 of themain latch member 130. The interlocking engagement of the notch 126 withthe extension 134 will prevent the main latch 130 from moving downwardlyinto latching engagement and thereby prevent the operation of thecopying machine. if a proper sized document is placed on the documentcarriage 84, the document cover 78 will be able to close completely andwill not contact the lever 106. Thus, the lever 106 will contact thesensing rod 128 and hold the notch 136 of the lever 122 out ofthc pathof the main latch extension 134 thereby allowing the operator to pushthe handle 22 downwardly and bring the latch 130 into locking engagementwith a latch retaining mechanism (not shown).

Another control lever 140 is pivoted to the cover 14 at 142 intermediatethe sensing mechanism and the flange 63 (FIG. 2) upon which roller 61travels during opening and closing of the cover. One arm 144 of lever140 is disposed in contact with the sensing rod 128 on the side thereofopposite the lever 106. The other arm 146 of the lever 140 is providedwith a cam plate or flange 148 which is normally positioned in contactwith an extension ofthe stud 1S0 upon which the roller 61 is mounted.Spring 152 is connected between a tab 154 on the flange 63 and an car156 on the lever 140. The spring 152 biases the lever 140 in a clockwisedirection as viewed in FIG. 5 to maintain the arm 144 in contact withsensing rod 128 and the cam plate 148 in engagement with the extensionof stud 150.

As the cover 14 is raised, the roller 61 will move from right to left asviewed in FIG. 5. Due to the angular position of the cam plate 148relative to the cover 14, the lever 140 will rotate under the influenceof spring 152 as the roller 61 moves from right to left. This rotarymovement lcvcr 140 will bias the sensing rod 128 and the latch lever [22to which it is secured in a direction to bring the notch 136 of lcvcr122 into interlocking engagement with the extension 134 of main latch130 to prevent movement of the main latch. Thus, it will be impossiblefor the operator to manipulate the handle 22 while the cover 14 is openand thereby prevent bypassing of the sensing linkage. If the lever 140were not provided, the operator could lower handle 22, while the coveris open and the sensing roller 112 and associated linkage areinoperative, to move the extension 134 of latch past the notch 136 onthe latch lever 122. The operator could then close the cover 14 with themain latch in operative position for starting the machine even if anoversize document is in the machine since the sensing linkage would thenbe effectively bypassed.

We claim:

1. A multiple cover assembly comprising cover means pivotally mounted ona stationary member, document sensing means pivotally mounted on amovable member and movable therewith into and out of alignment with saidcover means,

and interconnecting means mounted on said cover and document sensingmeans and arranged to simultaneously pivot said document sensing meansupon pivotal movement of said cover means when said cover and documentsensing means are aligned.

2. A multiple cover assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidinterconnecting means comprises a pickup arm on said cover means on theside thereof adjacent said document sensing means and a flange mountedon said document sensing means adapted to be positioned between saidpickup arm and said cover means when said cover and document sensingmeans are in alignment.

3. A multiple cover assembly as set forth in claim 1 further comprisinglatch means movably mounted on said cover means for releasably securingsaid cover means to said stationary member, detecting means movablymounted on said cover means adjacent said document sensing means fordetecting the position of said document sensing means relative to saidmovable member when said cover and document sensing means are inalignment and means operable under the control of said detecting meansto inhibit latching of said latch means if said document sensing meansis improperly positioned relative to said movable member.

4. A multiple cover assembly as set forth in claim 1 further comprisingcontrol means mounted on said stationary member and engaging said firstcover means to control the pivotal movement of said first cover means.

5. A multiple cover assembly as set forth in claim 4 wherein saidcontrol means comprises first lever means pivotally mounted about anaxis parallel to the pivot axis of said cover means and having firstgear means thereon, second gear means journaled on said axis adjacentsaid first gear means, reduction gear means interconnecting said firstand second gear means, friction braking means for controlling therotation of said second gear means on said axis and second lever meansinterconnected between said first lever means and said first cover meanswhereby movement of said first cover means will cause said second gearmeans to rotate under the control of said friction braking means.

